I have both V1 and 8500 X50, and I like the V1 hands down.

The new Passport 9500 is pretty nice looking so far, but you can't beat the arrows (V1) telling you where they are.

And for the love of god, search for this topic next time. Its asked almost as much as lids.

Peace,
Craig.

 

I got the 9500i and and I'll never use anything else. The perfect RD in my eyes, the future of all RD's.

 

My v1 has saved my *** a countless amount of times... until someone jacked it

 

It's interesting to see people say that the only way to really "detect radar" is to keep your eyes out and pay attention. And then there are people that believe they can drive 100+ as long as they have a radar detector... I don't think either group is right.

Personally, I rely on my eyes first to watch for cops. I also try not to be the fastest person on the road. If some guy in a BMW feels good about passing me, I say good... and thank him for being ticket bait.

In addition, I use a V1 and I love it. For the cops that are dumb enough to leave their radar on 24/7, I know about them from a long way away. It also helps me out when I'm not paying as much attention as I should be (like on really long drives where you just can't focus on looking for cops for 8+ hours). And even with all of that, I tend to stay within 5 MPH of the limit. But sometimes I'll accidentally drift over that or I just want to quickly pass someone. A radar detector, along with good situational awareness and an ounce of common sense are the keys to avoiding tickets. Oh, and I NEVER speed at all in residential or school zones. It's just not worth it.

Regarding the upgrades you can get from Valentine, they cost over $200, so while it's nice to have them available, it's not like you're getting something for free (or even for cheap).

I haven't used anything but my V1 for the last 8+ years so I can't comment on how good or bad the competition is. I can say that I REALLY like my V1 and have no intention of trying anything else.

 

I haven't had a ticket since I was 18 and I do some of the same things you do and I don't know if I've had good luck or maybe these tactics actually work. I constantly have my eyes peeled for cops. I try not to be the fastest on the road or I keep with the flow of traffic even if they are speeding. I don't think they can legally single you out when you are going with the flow of traffic. I stay in the right lane as much as possible and try not to speed when I'm the only one on the road. I usually never speed in residential areas just because my car sits way too low and it's so easy for a cop to hide and single you out. Also, with dips and random stop signs everywhere, you'll never get away and it'd be way too easy to hurt someone there.

 

of course im going to say the V1....because I have one.

Actually ive tired all the brands listed above and V1 works best for me

 

frist off the speed stops at 127mph....dont know y such an odd number but it does...second....the problem w/ blockin out false alerts from grocery stores and wallgreens etc.....is that it only blocks the frequency soo...this subject has been touch on before....if a cop is running the same frequency the store is...UR FUCKED!!!..... that is VERY POSSIBLE....third the range isnt any longer than the 8500 X50....and yes i spent hours researchin this **** or else i wouldnt know half of it....not knockin the radar detector at all..but i couldnt see payin that much for that detector when it basicly doesnt do anything more special than its previous modle.....i cant say anything about the V1 b/c i have never tried it...BTW i own the 8500 X50

 

Thats kind of a blanket statement, dont you think. You say youve tried ALL brands listed, but have u tried their complete lineups?

I cant speak for 90% of the detectors out there, but from my experience, Ive had an escort, 2 cobras, and now my beltronics rx75 plus. Id have to say that the cobras were pretty weak in comparison, but the escort and the beltronics got the job done. Ive seen the V1 in action and its nice, but I cant speak for it as I havent owned one.

 

I have the whistler pro. It works for what it is. I haven't gotten a speeding ticket yet with it (knock hard on wood!!!) The price was only about $145.

Radarbusters is a great site. You just put the price range you are in and it gives you a list of wired and wireless and you choose from there and you can even buy the dector from that site. That's were I got mine.

 

For three years now Ive been relying on Valentine One for my radar detectors. They seem to have created an unbelievable radar detector that scores big points with every major radar testing company that there is. However, what those companies dont experience is Valentines customer service.

A few weeks ago I drove past a speed trap and my V-1 didnt pick it up, however my buddies valentine did. I figured hmmm this doesnt seem right. So later that night, I decided to throw my other valentine in the car (I have 2), and pass the same speed trap. Sure enough this valentine went whacko. I figured well my other Valentine must need some repair work.

Keep in mind I have 2 valentines. One of them I bought directly from Valentine.
The other was purchased 6 months ago through EBay.

The next day I decided to go ahead and ship my V-1 back to Valentine for what I assumed would be a warranty repair. The one that was I sent back to them was the one I bought off of ebay.

I get a phone call a few days later saying:
"Sir why is this radar here, theres no paper or anything in the box explaining to us what the problem is." Well turns out UPS forgot to put the paper in the box with my explanation. So I sat on the phone for 45 minutes explaining what was wrong with the radar.
The man reassuringly said
"Oh ok sir thats no problem we will go ahead and fix it and get it back to you."

2 days later I get a phone call from Mike Valentine. "Hey, well there seems to be nothing wrong with the radar. We are going to go ahead and send it back to you. We checked it out and it seems to be picking up radar just fine."

^^ He couldnt have been nicer. He was very friendly in reassuring me that my radar would be back in my hands in no time.

2 weeks later...... Still no radar at my doorstep. As I pick up the phone to dial Valentine 1 and ask them where the hell my radar is, my phone rings. I couldnt get to that phone in time so it went to voicemail. Little did I know it was Valentine1 calling me. The voicemail said "Hey, we repaired your radar and its ready to be shipped out to you. Theres going to be a $45 repair charge because the radar is out of warranty. It seems that you bought this radar from somebody else and not directly from us... The warranties are untransferable so you need to pay for out of warranty repair plus shipping."

Im thinking to myself... WTF.. I talked to Mike the other day who said theres NOTHING wrong wtih my radar and now they are saying they fixed it, its out of warranty and I owe them money. Yeah right.

My mom calls in asking to speak to a supervisor.

Mike Valentines wife answers. "Thankyou for calling Valentine one this is Margaret may I help you?"

My mom replies: "Hey. I just want to let you know how friendly Mike Valentine was to my son. Your his wife arent you?"

Margaret Valentine: "Excuse you maam, but my marital status is none of your business okay?"

My mom: "Okay thats fine. But can you send our radar back please. Supposedly there was nothing wrong with it 2 weeks ago, but now someone said there was something wrong with it and we owe you guys money. Thats ridiculous."

Margaret Valentine: "Well. We accept Visa, Master card and American Express. How would you like to pay maam?"

My mom: "Your not even listening to me. I own a business and I know how a client is supposed to be treated."

Margaret Valentine: "Well we fixed the radar. It was out of warranty. We need money or we wont send it back."

My mom: "You dont understand Margaret. Its not about the money. Its the fact that somebody called my son saying we dont owe money and there was nothing wrong with it. And yesterday we receive another phone call saying we owe $45 for fixing it. Nobody called us BEFORE fixing it telling us we would owe money. We knew nothing until after the repair was done. If somebody called us PRIOR to fixing it and informed us there would be a $45 repair charge then that would be fine. But we dont get a phone call until AFTER the repair was done, so basically it leaves us no choice. And if there was nothing wrong with it in the first place why do we owe money?

Maragret Valentine: "Maam I already told you the payment methods we accept. How would you like to pay. This is ridiculous. Just pay us already. Your not getting anywhere."

My mom: "Ive NEVER in my life had somebody talk to me like this. Valentine is your company, you should be a little more respectful. Your not even listening to my requests.

Margaret: "Goodbye." click....


Maragaret Valentine is a ******* skank bag *****.
She hung up on my mom and my mom was on the verge of tears. That wasnt even the whole conversation. I just basically summed up the main points.

SOOOO.. I stepped in and called Mike Valentine. Not to mention when the answered the phone you could hear Margaret laughing in the backround and she goes. "Wow theyre calling back again." Mike was acting like a ******* DOUCHE bag to me the whole time. Until the end that is.... When I mentioned to him that I own 2 units of his. I have a sister who might be buying one shortly. And also 2 of my friends are looking into buying Valentines, because they love how mine works.

Keep in mind Mikes attitude was WORSE then hers.. He was accusing us of being a chinese tag team and gainging up on him. I guess the guy I bought the radar from off ebay was chinese?

^^^ Once I told him that his attitude changed completely. He was being nice to me, saying we will get to the bottom of this and call you back. Hes working for money and business, not for customer satisfaction.



I used to 100% recommend valentine to everybody. And now, they just lost 100% of their respect from me.

 

Okay...so you bought a faulty radar detector through Ebay, and wanted it fixed. Warranties don't transfer...that's industry standard. No surprises there. If there was something wrong, you should have reasonably expected to be charged something.

There was a mix-up of some sort on their end. Okay. It happens. That's life.

Now, after going to their website, I read this:


Your unit was over 1 year old (or out of warranty), so $45 is the standard charge regardless of whether or not there is a problem. That covers their labor. You obviously didn't have a big problem, so the charge didn't exceed $45.

I don't really see what the issue is here. If you click on "Service" on their website, it says it plain as day.

 

Stop spamming LS1TECH.com about your POS ebay V1 that broke on you, give us a break! Go cry somewhere else

Spam again, go ahead try it. You will find a nice vacation from here I promise you, and don't have your mom posting for you.

 

I use the Beltronics STi. It is the only detector that can't be picked up by police radar detector detectors (RDD). It is expensive, but it's also among the top 3 best detectors. The 9500i with its sattelite tracked anti-falsing is an interesting detector, but I would never give up my STi. Here's a site that has tested RDs this year:

www.guysoflidar.com


Guys of Lidar is the only unbiased group testing detectors. The day of the radar detector is sure to end in the near future however, as instant-on radar is the current norm and lasers are replacing them quickly. For that you need a laser jammer. There are a few good ones on the market, but they really just became effective in the last two years. The Guys of Lidar tests show who has the most effective jammers. There are some good ones, but there are some real frauds too, so buyer beware.

 

+1 on the Crager comment, and MeentSS02 hit it right on the ball.

 

I've used both the escort passport 8500 x50 and the beltronics pro rx65. Both had great performance but I like the Bel a little bit better. The bel has voice alerts and ou can adjust the volume using the "smart plug", you can only mute the detector with the escort. Also, the escort isnt loud enough, i cant tell you how many times I would be driving with the radio on (not even that loud) and I would look up and the damn thing is going off. Go with the Bel pro rx65, best bang for your buck, i picked one up for 225 brand new. The V1 isn't worth 175 more.